The present invention relates to a pole and tree climber with a gaff release assembly and a detachable gaff.
The development of this type of climber is well exampled in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,867,998 by Joseph, and 4,153,139 by Houch. In those patents, representative of the prior art, the gaff employed is either welded to the main body of the climber, or is tediously replaceable by unscrewing it from the main body.
Typically, a workman climbing wooden poles utilizes a climber secured to the inner side of his legs. A spur or a gaff extends generally outward and is pointed for a forced insertion into the wooden pole, to provide climbing support.
The gaff is subjected to various forces which act to wear it down. In instances where the gaff is permanently secured to the climber, a replacement of the gaff necessitates the replacement of the entire climber device. On the other hand, in known devices where the gaff is detachably mounted, the device is succeptible to either rotating or coming off completely if a component breaks, thus endangering the workman wearing the device.
Furthermore, in all those devices with a detachable gaff, the replacement of the gaff is a cumbersome process, whereby the workman has to take off the device, unscrew the gaff from the vertical metallic sleeve, replace tha gaff and then put the screws back on. Another disadvantage of those older devices is that the spur or gaff presents a substantial physical danger to the user when walking, running or commuting between the poles to be climbed.
Another disadvantage common to the prior art devices is that they comprise an upright on either or both sides of the leg which connects rigidly with a stirrup, preventing dorsal flexion and thus making it very difficult to walk.